Books That Rake Up Unimaginable Nostalgia

It was just yesterday when I was grabbing a plastic covered copy of Harry Potter and the

Philosopher’s Stone from the school library, finally getting my hands on the infamous book as I pawed through the pages and settled on reading the back cover blurb and sat down.

Then begin a series of using phone flashlights to read under the blanket (very cliché, I know), spending an incessant amount of money on books and escaping the real world for hours on end. There are quite a few books that made me fall in love with reading, but here are the classics:

1. Harry Potter: The aforementioned series was one of the very first few collection of books I read as a child. I fell in love with a world of magic, of pet owls and of heroes that were the same age as me. I found comfort in Hermione believing in herself and not changing, it was reassuring to know that at the end of the day you are not what your bullies make of you.Harry Potter made me believe in a world other than mine, and as basic it might sound, the books, the characters, the place (Hogwarts!✨) encouraged much of my imagination. I remember going home and begging my dad for the books, years later, they’re still on a very accessible bookshelf, just in case.

2. Percy Jackson and the Olympians:

I cannot imagine any list of favourite books without

mentioning PJO. Regardless of the series being fiction, it has instilled such a deep love of

mythology and history in me. It also involves one of my favourite childhood female heroes,

Annabeth Chase. A world filled with hidden magic was incredibly fascinating. Percy, Grover,

Thalia and so many other characters had such brave and generous personalities. Just an

ordinary schoolboy becoming a hero and saving the world from ancient forces, that’s pretty

great. Another thing I like about the Percy Jackson universe is that there are always more

characters and the stories of these demigods haven’t just come to a screeching halt yet,

continuing with the Heroes of Olympus, Percy and Annabeth also make appearances in the

author’s other books such as the Magnus Chase series, Trials of Apollo and a spinoff called

Demigods and Magicians with the Kane Chronicles characters.

3. Geronimo Stilton/Thea Stilton:

While these books predated Harry Potter and PJO by a

couple of years in terms of reading advancement, they were so fun to read, I used to go

through one Geronimo Stilton book a day. There were countless books in the school library

and I recall scheduling the exchange of different editions with my friends in school. As fond

as I am of Geronimo Stilton, I loved reading about his sister more. Thea Stilton, the Thea

Sisters and their oh so exciting adventures were impossible to tear away from, there’s

nothing better than solving mysteries with your girls and having best friends to rely and

cheer you on.

4. The Diary of a Wimpy Kid:

These books were by far the most popular books in my grade for two to three years on end. Classmates would trade them and I’ve lent a couple to some friends as well (did not receive them in the same condition I gave them). Basically, they were hot commodity, they were easy to read for everyone and all pre-teens and teenagers identified with some part of Greg Heffley and the awkwardness that comes with growing up and reaching that age.

5. The Princess Diaries:

My girly adolescent self loves these books so much. Mia Thermopolis, an average teen girl, becomes a princess after she finds out that her father cannot have children anymore. This whirlwind story of Mia’s life including pesky grandmas, cool parents, high school dances and a supportive best friend is a fun unrealistically realistic teenage

experience to read about.

Special mentions: Here are some special mentions of books I truly liked reading: Divergent, the Secret Seven adventures, Hunger Games, Famous Five, Young Sherlock. These books have contributed to my love of reading so much, I hope they do the same for many other children.

I would also like to take a moment to include how much characters like Hermione (Harry Potter),Annabeth (PJO) and Tris (Divergent) have instilled bravery in me and taught me how to not let anyone suppress you. To me they formed the initial blueprint for girl power, they’re inspirational, smart and incredibly fearless in the face of adversity.

By

Swamini Yeole Wisdom High International School Govardhan Campus(GOC)